FanHouse

For most of his career, the oft-maligned Chris Osgood has been panned as a mediocre goalie that has had the fortune of playing behind great teams. Despite having his name engraved on the Stanley Cup ring, and compiling nearly 350 wins on his resume, Osgood's career 90.7% save percentage pretty much streams "Decidedly Average Goalie".

Well, Osgood was recently thrust into the Red Wings' #1 role after Dominik Hasek's magical groin done got broke, and The Wizard of Os seems to be kicking ass and taking names. Last night's 3-0 shutout over the St. Louis Blues has Osgood sitting with a pretty 10-1 record and a SV% near 93%. Compare this to Hasek's 85.8SV% (Whaaa??), and the Wings must be in no hurry for Hasek to heal.

The world of goaltending, in whole, seems to be upside down. Tim Thomas, Martin Gerber, and Pascal Leclaire are leading the league in SV%, while Hasek, Miikka Kiprusoff, and Martin Brodeur languish in the depths of sucktitude.

What the hell is going on? My hockey pool wants to know :(Big Mouth of the Day: Derek Boogaard. After the Minnesota Wild got beat around by the Canucks last Friday night, the Wild's goon had some choice words for the Canucks before their re-match last night.

"Their so-called agitators were taking liberties. As soon as I step on the ice, they just sort of spread out and scatter in their holes, almost. They don't want to come near me or talk

I'm not too worried about (Ohlund). You know, maybe I can go after, you know, check Naslund or, you know, those Pinky and the Brain twins."

Well, for all of Boogie's bluster, the big man played just over three minutes and did absolutely nothing of note during the Canucks 4-2 victory. Naslund, obviously, not afraid of the Boogie Man's retribution, scored the hat trick to give him 10 goals on the season. Talk is cheap, Boogie.

With friends like you, who needs enemies? Ian Winwood, who writes for the UK-based Guardian Unlimited, certainly doesn't paint a flattering picture of Nashville, in his latest column.

My job here is not made any easier by the fact that Nashville is rubbish. I found myself there last autumn. Dumping my bags in the hotel room, I asked the receptionist "where the stuff was?" You know, bars and that. Pointing me down the street, I was surprised to learn that the 'downtown' area consisted of fewer than a dozen drinking sheds, and virtually no shops. Like so many American cities, the suburban spread has rendered the centre of town redundant.

I would like to report that the city's hockey experience is better. I'd like to, but I can't, because it's not: it's crap,

The funny part? Ian is actually arguing FOR keeping the club in Nashville, rather than moving them somewhere better. Kinda like hitting up a girl at the bar and asking her on date after commenting that her legs are chunkier than cottage cheese. Smooth ...

Looking for a Hockey-based Soap Opera? Me neither. Still, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) must think somebody would want to watch a concoction of those two elements gracing our boob tubes.

CBC's new winter dramas include MVP, a steamy soap that could appeal to both sexes. The network is calling MVP "a keyhole look" at the "sexy and scandalous world of a fictitious professional NHL hockey team of hunky players and their gorgeous girlfriends, wives, lovers and puck bunnies." The cast includes Kristen Booth and Lucas Bryant, and it airs on Jan. 11.

Guys, if you are trying to get your wives/girlfriends/daughters into the game of hockey, and have access to CBC in your part of the country, you might want to check this out. Perhaps Gary Leeman, Brendan Shanahan, or Jeff Brown can provide some script assistance, given how well they've played 'the game'.

Gratuitous YouTube Embed: Alex Burrows doesn't score many goals. When he does, however, they tend to be beauties, such as this shorty against the Oilers.